The College of Registrars places the rise in operations in February at 16%, compared to 24% for the whole of Spain
The real estate market continues to show signs of improvement. The sale of homes rose 16.6% in the Region last February compared to the same month of 2021, adding up to 1,776 operations, according to statistics made public by the College of Registrars. The growth in home sales, although positive, remains in the Community below the figures reached at the national level, where 51,700 operations were exceeded – nearly 10,000 more (24.1%)–.
All the autonomous communities increased the purchase and sale of housing in February in the interannual rate except Navarra, where it fell by 3.1%. The greatest increases were recorded by the Canary Islands (+56.5%), La Rioja (+46.3%) and the Balearic Islands (+43.2%). The Region of Murcia, however, is among those communities in which the increase was less pronounced.
Total sales, which include homes and other real estate, rose to 3,420 operations in February in the Community, which represents an increase of 12.5% compared to the same month of the previous year. At the national level, the rebound reached 21.1%, according to the data provided by the Association.
The report of the registrars also reflects the increase in the constitution of mortgages on houses. In the case of the Region, the rebound was 4.4%, reaching up to 1,017 operations. The increase at the national level was much more notable, up to 13.9%, around 35,190 operations. In the case of the number of total mortgages –which include homes and other real estate–, the rise was somewhat lower, 3.1%, in the Community. At the national level, the rebound reaches 13.5%.
Lead the rise in rent
On the other hand, the price of rental housing grew in the first quarter of this year by 7.4% in the Region compared to the same period of the previous year. With this increase, it stands at 7.70 euros per square meter, according to data from the Fotocasa real estate index. This value places the Community as the region where rents have risen the most so far this year throughout the country. The Fotocasa report reveals that the increase has been more pronounced in some areas. In the city of Murcia, for example, the rebound in the first quarter of the year reached 6.2% while in Cartagena it was more contained, 3.2%. These data place the price of rental housing at 7.86 euros per square meter per month in Murcia and at 7.37 euros per square meter per month in Cartagena.
In the country as a whole, Spain closed the first quarter of 2022 with a year-on-year increase in the price of rental housing of 0.8%. It is the first increase after 13 months.
The Euribor is positive for the first time in six years
The 12-month Euribor yesterday marked a positive value in its daily rate for the first time since 2016, given the expectation of an upcoming interest rate hike by the European Central Bank (ECB), in a scenario marked by the war in Ukraine and the less transitory nature of inflation.
The 12-month Euribor, the index to which most Spanish mortgages are referenced, has risen in its daily rate to 0.005%, placing the average for the month of April at -0.057%, compared to -0.502% in which closed 2021.
After the historic low of -0.518% that it marked in its daily rate on December 20, 2021, the 12-month Euribor began to rise, boosted by the change of speech of the president of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, who was determined to rise interest rates due to escalating inflation in Europe and the energy crisis stemming from the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Analysts already expect the Euribor to end 2022 in positive values, which will make the installments of mortgage contracts linked to a variable rate more expensive.
Researchers from the Bankinter Analysis Department and those from CaixaBank Research forecast that the Euribor will be around 0.40% and 0.13%, respectively, at the end of the year.
In this scenario, financial experts expect financial institutions to make fixed-rate mortgages more expensive and improve their offer of variable-rate mortgage loans.
#purchase #houses #continues #rise #Region #Murcia #average